Category: Uncategorized
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The Week Between
The week between Christmas and New Years day was always a magic one, probably because the decorations were still in place and the time was drained of its pre Christmas frenzy. For children, that week was a vacation from school, and in the North it usually meant snow and new sleds. In the South there…
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Blessed Merry Christmas
The prophet Micah prophesied in the late 8th century BC. He brought messages of defeat and destruction to both Jerusalem and to Samaria, the northern capital of Israel. His pronouncements were vivid, strong, and, scary. He held back nothing in describing the disasters ahead for these two cities. Micah was the first prophet to predict…
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Bring A Gift
A friend on mine who was having regular chemo treatments for breast cancer told me that sitting in the treatment waiting room enabled her to meet many other patients, some of whom engaged in what they called “bargaining “ with God for their lives, their mobility , time, and other desires. One day she prayed,…
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To Bond With Angels
It’s not as if God empties His heaven of a host of angels and sends them to commune with unsuspecting human beings in every generation. In fact, there is no record of such an event in the Bible except in Luke 2:13-14: Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel (who…
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Swaddling Cloths
On the day you were born your cord was not cut, nor were you washed with water to make you clean . . . nor were you wrapped in swaddling cloths. No one looked on you with pity or had compassion enough to do any of these things for you. ( Ezekiel 16: 4&5) In…
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Anticipation
In leading us to a table at a local restaurant the hostess led us past a booth that was decorated with a lovely bouquet of roses. I asked what the occasion could be, and she answered, “Oh, that booth has been reserved by a young man for later this evening. He said that he is…
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Holy Freedom
Once while I was still living in New York State, I traveled to Mexico City, and among other adventures visited the zoo there. I was surprised to see in the aviary, cardinals and blue jays in cages. It seemed “normal” for me to stare at every other creature, but I couldn’t help feeling that these…
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Every Good And Perfect Gift
Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. (James 1:17) Advent is the season of anticipation of a wonderful, and, indeed “good and perfect” gift. Sometimes we get sidetracked and focus on the “gifts” we will receive and give instead of…
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Fear
In A Grief Observed, C.S. Lewis wrote that one of the surprises in experiencing grief, is how very similar grief is to fear, in one’s life. When fear and grief come together, they deepen our sadness and sense of loss. I believe that fear, in fact, attaches itself to any large or small change in…
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The Advent of Advent
Next week begins the season of Advent in the Christian Calendar. For some churches it is entirely ignored; for others, it’s a time of feasting, with advent calendars holding sweets for each day, and parties and celebrations. For others, it’s a significant fast , eliminating meat and dairy foods for the four weeks until Christmas.…
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